Safety Technology Company Celebrates Historic Milestone with Special Anniversary Event

Dräger (Germany) is turning 125 in 2014. The medical and safety technology company celebrated its anniversary year with a special event for customers, business partners and staff from across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Customers, business partners and employees from across the UK and Ireland gathered at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull this week to help Dräger celebrate 125 years of heartfelt dedication. The event was organised as a ‘thank you’ to enable guests to share in the company’s special celebrations.

Stefan Dräger, Executive Board Chairman, represents the fifth generation of the family run business. After unveiling a new company film, he shared with guests some unforgettable moments in the company’s history and outlined some key milestones during the last 125 years.

One of the highlights was the disclosure of Dräger Moments: a selection of 15 key moments that takes the viewer on a journey through the 125-year history of the company.

One stop on this journey is the Pulmotor, the first portable emergency ventilator back in 1907 that made it possible to resuscitate people who had lost consciousness due to a lack of oxygen. Another is the Dräger-Tube, in 1937, a gas detection tube that could quickly detect carbon monoxide in the air.

World renowned expert, Lord Winston, Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College London, also gave an entertaining and enlightening talk on innovation at the afternoon tea celebration. In the 1970s, Lord Winston developed gynaecological surgical techniques that improved fertility treatments, as well as pioneed new treatments in IVF. He now runs a research programme that aims to improve human transplantation and has over 300 scientific publications about human reproduction and early pregnancy. He is also Chairman of the Genesis Research Trust.

The event was also attended by young inventor, James Roberts, who this month won the James Dyson Award for the world’s most promising inventors, after he invented a low cost incubator for premature babies for his final year studies at Loughborough University.

Stefan Dräger, Executive Board Chairman at Dräger, said: “It’s a great pleasure and honour to be joined by customers, partners and employees and for us all to share in this company celebration.

“Our 125th anniversary is a great opportunity to underline again our commitment to the UK and Ireland, and to value our close customer relationships and the dedication of our employees.

“Together, on a daily basis, we help customers protect, support and save lives across the UK and Ireland, whether it be through breathing apparatus for fire fighters or ventilators for intensive care units in hospitals. This is the true meaning of turning technology into ‘Technology for Life’.”

Dräger’s Managing Director in the UK, Mike Norris, said: “We are proud to be celebrating our 125th anniversary and to share our achievements with our loyal customers, partners and employees. It was a very special and enjoyable event.

“The spirit of innovation has been at the heart of our company since its inception and that fact it just as true today. We look forward to the next 125 years of ‘Technology for Life’ – making a real difference to people’s lives, by saving and protecting them on a daily basis. Dräger’s dedication to technology for life will continue throughout the next generation.”

The UK anniversary celebration event is one of 20 events held globally during 2014, including those in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Germany, India, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, Chile, Mexico, Japan, China, Poland and Switzerland.